Elisabeth Andriesse grew up in Vlissingen. When she was around fifteen, her father decided to move to Belgium. In Antwerp, Elisabeth married Pinkas Spira, a Polish man, and the couple had a son, Jean. Because he remained in Belgium after his 10-day residence permit had expired, Pinkas became stateless. Due to her marriage, Elisabeth shared that status. As a result, her family was not allowed to cross the French border. Her parents and her brother Lou were allowed to do so. They travelled on to the Dutch East Indies and eventually ended up in Japanese camps. Elisabeth, Pinkas and their son returned to Antwerp and lived at Herculusstraat 1 in Berchem. In the autumn of 1941, they managed to reach the Free Zone in France clandestinely. But Jews were not safe there either. They made every effort to continue their flight.
Pinkas manages to cross the Pyrenees into Spain. Elisabeth and Jean fall into the hands of a rogue network of passeurs. They are caught during their first attempt to flee, but are released in exchange for large bribes. A second attempt proves fatal: they are arrested and transported to Drancy. From there, they depart on the 76th transport to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, where they are immediately killed. Elisabeth is 36 and Jean is 6. Ingrid Vander Veken wrote the haunting book “Verloren” (Lost) about the tragic war experiences of Elisabeth Andriesse and her family. (Pelckmans, ISBN 978 94 6434 161 4).
